Mass Transfer Characteristics of Haemofiltration Modules-Experiments and Modeling

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Fluid Dynamics
• Mass Transfer

Background:

• Mathematical models are crucial for designing and optimizing haemo-filtration modules.
• Accurate determination of fluid-mechanical and mass transfer parameters is essential for reliable modeling.
• Previous methods faced challenges due to ill-posed problems and measurement inaccuracies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a systematic methodology for determining haemo-filtration module characteristics.
• To independently determine fluid-mechanical parameters and subsequently mass transfer parameters.
• To provide a basis for simulating haemo-filtration in Newtonian fluid flow and future applications.

Main Methods:

• Designed specialized experiments to independently determine fluid-mechanical parameters for Newtonian fluids.
• Developed a mass transfer model utilizing the established flow field.
• Validated the model with experimental concentration profile data for urea in counter-current flow.

Main Results:

• Successfully determined complete mass transfer module characteristics.
• A single intrinsic parameter, effective solute diffusivity, accurately fitted all experimental data.
• Gained insights into the interplay of convective and diffusive mass transfer mechanisms.

Conclusions:

• The developed methodology enables reliable simulation of haemo-filtration modules in Newtonian fluid flow.
• The study validates the effectiveness of the systematic approach for parameter determination.
• This work lays the foundation for extending the model to plasma and blood haemofiltration, considering additional physiological factors.